Toy Soldiers
by Leather Queen
Summary: In war there are no Children, No innocent souls. All are toy soldiers fighting not to fall over.


_**Step by step. Heart to heart. Left right left. We all fall down.**_

Children should never have to face their own mortality. Death shouldn't be a factor to them. Their innocent minds should focus on something simpler like how high a swing can go, or if the care taker will notice them sneaking a cookie before dinner. Children should not be forced to witness violent crime. They shouldn't have to hear that their hero is dead and that they are to take his place. They were supposed to play with toy soldiers not become them. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair damn it!

Only emptiness remained inside the thirteen year old boy's heart making his body cold. This was what he had been preparing for. This moment to step up and take his place on the front lines without fear. Fear was the enemy for a soldier. He turned from the old man before him and walked out. It was time to stand or fall and he would not fall down. He would not be a toy soldier.

As he opened the door to his bedroom he saw the only person in the world he trusted more than L. The redhead sat on the window sill smoking a cigarette but when he turned and saw the blond he flicked it out the window and stood. A good soldier waiting for his marching orders. A loyal dog ready to follow its master into battle.

Neither said a word as Mello packed his bag and slung it over his shoulder. "Coming?" he asked in a deadly calm voice. "Won't you come out and play with me?" Matt nodded and didn't hesitate to grab his meager possessions following the other out the door. Step by step… Heart to heart… Left right left… We all fall down… They were soldiers now… no longer children playing pretend.

The rain beat down on them but neither paid any attention as they walked down the streets. Orphans who would never be missed by anyone, the perfect fighters in this war. A war they had never wanted in the beginning but were left to fight regardless of hopes or dreams. This was the fate of the chosen soldier after all.

"Mello… I-I'm t-t-tired," Matt said after two hours of walking, teeth chattering and shoulders shaking.

The blond could hear the cold in his friend's voice and he turned to look at him. Matt looked like a soaked puppy with his shivering and chattering teeth. Mello had to admit his own weariness and offered his hand to him. "Just a bit further… We'll find somewhere to rest just keep walking okay. Together."

His friend nodded as he took his hand firmly and was pulled along towards a tall building. It must have been an old mill from before the more modern factories took its place. He was grateful to be out of the rain at least but he was still freezing. Guess Mello didn't think farther than walking out. He couldn't say he was surprised. After all, Mello had always been an act first, think later type of person. No to say he wasn't intelligent. When the blond put his mind to it, his plans were brilliant. There was a reason he was in the running to become L. However, he often acted out of his emotions and thought about it later. Not that Matt minded. It kept life going and he'd follow the blond even in death. All that mattered was that they were together. He looked over at his friend; he wasn't the only one who was cold. Thinking, he perked a little, "I have my lighter. Think we can find some shit to burn? Warm up a bit?"

"Yeah I'll go look around. You stay here and guard our stuff."

His lips quirked slightly into a playful and teasing smirk, "Sir yes sir," he said giving Mello a salute. It made the blond chuckle a bit as he walked off into the darkness.

Luckily, the abandoned factory had lots of stuff to set fire to. Broken bits of wood from rotted chairs and tables, random forgotten papers worn from the weather, even rat bitten cloth. Thanks to the survival training they had to endure, using Matt's lighter made starting a fire easy. They made sure to hang their clothes open over some extra broken furniture so it would dry by the fire before huddling up close to keep warm, making use of the cloth they had found as torn blankets.

"You didn't have to come…" Mello whispered. "You don't even know why I left."

Matt let out a breathy single chuckle tainted with a sound of disbelief, "So? I hated that place anyways. I'm glad I got to escape. Besides you'd die without me."

"I'm going after Kira… You might die if you stay with me," Mello said looking at his friend.

Matt turned his own head and looked at him. His eyes roaming over his face, taking in the details of the teenager next to him as he was today. A small smile graced his lips, though his eyes were protected by a pair of cheap sunglasses. He turned back to the fire, face falling and a frown taking over his lips as he stared into the flames and spoke quietly, "Kira doesn't scare me Mello. What scares me is the thought of you out here alone. Fighting on your own with no one to guard your back. I'm not going to let you fight in a war alone. You go, I go. That's the deal,"

"I can't worry about you getting in the way," Mello warned. "You are never to become my weakness."

He hummed as he pulled a cigarette out, lighting it and taking a deep drag, "If I start to slow you down you feel free to leave me behind." He said seriously, hand reaching out under the blanket and finding the others. He laid it over the blonds tentatively, giving him a soft squeeze of reassurance. He'd be his secret, watching over him and having his back at every turn, "I'll follow you to hell and back." He tossed an unopened Green and Black at him, never looking away from the fire as he took another drag.

 _ **Step by step, heart to heart, left right left, we all fall down. Like toy soldiers.**_

 _ **Bit by bit, torn apart, we never win but the battle wages on. For the toy soldiers.**_


End file.
